Podcasts are on iTunes' wavelength

Having turned legal downloadable music into a successful business with its iTunes service and software, Apple is turning its sights on the nascent podcasting trend.

Calling podcasting "the Wayne's World of radio," Apple chief Steve Jobs aims to bring the online audio format into the mainstream. He demoed version 4.9 of iTunes at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif. , on Sunday, and said that iTunes will provide integrated support for podcasting. Podcasters can submit their programs to Apple, which plans to make them available for free downloads; iTunes 4.9 is expected to be released this summer.

Jobs also downplayed any plans for releasing a version of iPod for videos and denied plans to acquire TiVo.